


Brothers - Blood doesn't bing us, Dalton does

by aceofhearts88



Series: Once a Warbler Universe [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Father issues, Friendship, Headaches, M/M, Nightmares, a look back, mention of Once a Warbler OCs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-10 23:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4412969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofhearts88/pseuds/aceofhearts88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've grown up now, high school kids turned into college boys, but before we let them be the big brothers, we take a look back at Sebastian's first weeks at Dalton, and how he became friends with three important Warblers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brothers - Blood doesn't bing us, Dalton does

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jaydeemz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaydeemz/gifts), [SamanthaB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaB/gifts).



> This was a gift a while back to my besties, including also to Tess, who doesn't have an account here, so feel tagged in this honey.

He had been having a mild headache for almost two days already, but he wrote it down to the cold he still hasn't completely lost, he didn't think much about it. He was used to ignoring it until it went away on its way, Dalton's curriculum was strict, there was not a lot of time to be lazy and slack off, especially not if you were part of a well watched group like the Warblers.

They were the rockstars of the school and everyone was looking their way, for guidance and to live by example. And a tiny headache was not a reason to stop being perfect. 

And Jeff knew that Nick was still nervous as hell about his leader position, sudden leader position, because Thad had not wanted to remain in any leading position any longer the second David and Wes had left. That Nick wasn't entirely ready to take on so much responsibility had not interested anyone but Jeff, but what was done was done and they had to arrange themselves around it now.

“Okay, once more from the top.”, his best friend and roommate of so many years called out and pushed past Jeff to take his observing position at the front again, eager eyes looking for any imperfection. As much as he was still struggling with people looking for him to be strong and lead now, Nick was giving his best and channeling Wes just a little too much.

Turning around to walk to the back of their formation, Jeff rolled his eyes at Sebastian, one of the new kids who had transferred to Dalton as a Junior. The brunet mirrored his gesture, they got along well, even if he still kept to himself for the most part and wasn't really social, unless you counted the little freshman who had apparently known him through their fathers.

Nick counted down from three and they started humming, the melody floating with ease from their lips already, and it soothed the throbbing in his head even. At least until the dancing started up for the fourth time that day, he swung himself into the twist just as a blinding white stab seemed to pierce through his skull.

Jeff gasped as the shock of hot pain raced through his veins like a lightning bolt, and he dropped to his knees as his headache exploded into a blinding wall of terror. Needles crippled along his skin and every sound was a like a sledgehammer in his ears. Nausea quelled up in his stomach and quickly he pressed both hands over his ears, trying to shut out the other boys still singing.

Choking and gagging he tried to force himself to continue breathing, to not fall into the crisps of hyperventilating, this is not the first time, he told himself, you know this will be over, you know this will have an end. Not the first time, not the first time.

\--

It was Sebastian loud call of his best friend's name that brought Nick's attention away from the lousy footwork of some boys and towards the far right corner of their formation.  
“Stop!”, he yelled, already pushing forward to where Sebastian had crouched down next a kneeling Jeff. It was easy to hear how he was wheezing for every breath when Nick came closer and he suddenly cursed himself for not setting his foot down when Jeff had told him yesterday that the headache was getting better, but had still not entirely vanished.

He should have seen the signs, they had all been there, they had just once more misinterpreted an approaching migraine for just usual signs of stress at the beginning of another school year. Now though, there was no question anymore. Falling to his knees next to Jeff, he laid a steadying hand on the blond's back while turning his face to the other boys.

Aside from Sebastian and a seemingly shocked Skylar peaking out from behind Thad, everyone knew about the migraines and no one was overly panicked about it.  
“Rehearsal is canceled for today, good job, guys. Thad, can you run to Miss Summers and get some Tylenol? We're out.”, he kept his voice quiet, knowing fully well that even the shuffle of a paper would result in Jeff's skull being split apart in pain right now. 

The boys shuffled off and Thad nodded before rushing out of the room to find the school nurse, Nick was only left with Sebastian still crouching by Jeff's other side, seemingly concerned for the well being of the boy who had dragged him before Nick and Thad on his second day in Dalton, after he had heard him singing quietly under the shower after Lacrosse Practice.

“He'll be fine, he gets migraines quite too often for us not to know how to help him. I've known Jeff since before we could walk, I know what to do.”, he reassured, all the while gently stroking a pattern down Jeff's tense back, “Can you help me get him to our room?”  
“Of course.”, Sebastian said and together they got back to their feet before carefully and most of all slowly reaching under Jeff's arms to get him back upwards as well again.

Jeff protested weakly, but Nick knew it would do him better to lay in his own bed than here on the cold choir room floor.  
“Come on, buddy, it's not far, you know that.”, but even his barely audible whisper had Jeff wince and moan in obvious pain, and if Sebastian hadn't had a strong hold on his left arm, Jeff could have easily slipped out of Nick's grasp again.

But when Jeff was finally standing, knees shaking with the effort it took to not crumble to the floor again, Nick stepped in front of them and leaned his forehead up against Jeff's.  
“It's gonna be okay.”, he promised and though Jeff kept his eyes tightly shut and his hands pressed to the sides of his head, he nodded slowly. Nick smiled and then pulled Jeff's right arm over his shoulders and Sebastian did the same with Jeff's left arm.

And then they made their slow way back to their dorm room.

\--

At the door of their room, pushing it open the moment they came into view, Thad waited with a bottle of pills from Miss Summers in his head, Skylar hovering behind his right elbow as usual.  
Sebastian helped Nick to bring Jeff over to his bed, where the blond immediately curled into a tight ball while Nick rushed to pull down the blinds over the windows.  
“Thanks.”, he said then, to both Sebastian and Thad who held out the bottle to him.  
“If you need anything else, just say the word, man, alright?”, gratefully Nick nodded and Thad sent him one last smile before taking Skylar and leaving.

“Can I do anything?”, Sebastian asked when Nick pulled a blanket over Jeff and then went to mute their phones.  
“That's nice, Sebastian, but I think I got it from here.”, Nick answered and gave a smile to the taller brunet, choosing to sit down at the foot of his best friend's bed. Sebastian nodded and then he also gave Nick one last smile before leaving, carefully and quietly closing the door behind himself and tainting the room in darkness.

The darkness helped quickly in relaxing Jeff, and most of the tension drained from his muscles, he melted into the pillows and blanket almost when Nick gently reached for his friend's feet and worked his fingers over them. He continued until Jeff sighed into the pillows and then shifted to lay more comfortably on his side, but then he moved to lay down next to him, facing the blond with concern still openly written on his face now.

They had perfected non verbal communication in kindergarten though to still be able to talk when every single sound send a wall of pain through Jeff's head, and one small twitch of Jeff's fingers against his temple later and Nick smiled.  
“It's getting better, thank you.”  
Two quick taps of his left thumb on Jeff's shoulder.  
“No problem, you know I'm here for you.”  
Long sigh blown through still tense lips.  
“Thank you.”  
Head leaning down to gently touch another.  
“Can I do anything?”  
Leg moving up to tangle around a smaller one.  
“Just stay close.”  
Fingers touched to dry lips.  
“Do you wanna take a Tylenol?”  
Jeff moved his hand from pressing against his temple to tap a finger twice against Nick's wrist, the smaller boy's hand still comfortably resting on Jeff's shoulder.  
“Not right now, maybe later.”  
Nick smiled and intertwined their fingers, using his other hand to carefully stroke through blond hair.  
“Try to get some sleep, I'll be here.”

Some minutes later, Jeff's breathing evened out and Nick relaxed into the pillows as well, especially when Jeff went lax with sleep and cuddled against his side, his arm slipping under the blond's head, fingers stroking gently through his hair. And in the darkness and silence of their room, it was easy then to pretend that it was more than just a friend taking care of another. 

Feeling Jeff's heart beating so close to his, it was easy for Nick to dream of something more. But it would still take a while.

\--

One day later

\--

The screaming was coming from all directions, left, right, from behind, from before him, no matter where he turned in this maze of light-less corridors. It got louder, it got quieter, directions changed and then it was everywhere at once again.

Sebastian gasped and choked and cried, lungs burning with every forced breath, legs shaking, hands slipping on the hold of his phone, no reception for what felt like hours already, it was only a matter of minutes now until the battery ran out of energy, taking with it the only source of light he still had. But he stumbled further along, up and down corridors, left, right, up and down stairs. Black floor, black walls, black ceiling, all black, corridors empty of everything else.

Sometimes he came by a door, but they were always locked, no way out, no way further in anywhere. Everything hurt, every step, every breath, but he had to go on, he had to find his brother, he had to find Sage. He couldn't stop until he had found his brother.

More screams sounded after he had rounded another corner, and then he saw it, a wide open door at the end of the corridor, a dead end, an end to this horror. He pulled on his last reserves and hurried forward, ignoring the ringing in his ears, the frantic pounding of his heart, the burning ranging from his lungs right to his throat.

He crashed into the room and right to his knees as his legs finally gave out under him, and then he cried out as light flashed on around him, blinding him for several minutes while his head throbbed with intense pain. The light vanished as quickly as it had flashed on again though and with it, the dead silence of vanished screams from his little brother returned.

Desperately now, panic stricken and moved by survival instinct alone, Sebastian fumbled over the floor for the phone he had dropped in his fall, his fingers found it quickly. Scrambling back to his feet and swaying as he stood, he switched on the light again and then it was over, his heart dropped, his breath stopped. 

He whirled around, casting the light into every corner of the room, but it was the same on every black wall, written in white paint. 

“You're too late”

Too late, too late, too late. It echoed in his head, echoed until he fell to his knees again, screaming, screaming in pain, screaming in terror. Screaming his brother's name.

He woke up in a mess of flailing arms and screams, soaked through with sweat from head to toe, fighting with all he had against the obvious presence of another body on his bed trying to push him down onto the mattress again.  
“Sebastian!”, it was calling out, “Sebastian, stop fighting! It's Thad, I'm trying to help you!”, nails scratched on skin but energy was fading in him and soon enough the smaller but stronger body had him pinned to the bed. 

Strong hands were pushing his shoulder down into a pillow as a gentle face with concerned but calm brown eyes crowded closer.  
“I'm not here to hurt you, Sebastian. Just stop fighting.”, it took a while, a long while until his body ceased to struggle against Thad's careful hands and especially until he stopped screaming. And then he sacked back into the bed and was left gasping for air that still felt too hot and too rare in his lungs.

Thad settled back on the edge of his bed, but kept his hands steadily with pressure on Sebastian's shoulders, “That's it. You're okay, it was just a dream. Just look at me.”, Sebastian gave everything into focusing on Thad's voice, his face, his movements, everything but the images from his nightmare. A nightmare, it had only been a nightmare. Sage was okay, everything was okay.

Several minutes later once more, his breathing had returned to normal and after Thad had sat back and took his hands back as well, Sebastian pushed the blanket off of himself and swung his legs over the edge of the bed to sit up as well. Instantly dropping his face down into his hands.  
“You know you don't have to say something. I know that some things are not easy to be talked about, I get it, Sebastian.”, Thad spoke up quietly and Sebastian nodded in gratitude, he wasn't ready, not yet, maybe not for a long time. He couldn't talk about it yet, it was still too fresh.

“Thank you.”, he said nevertheless and looked up, finding brown eyes fixed on him, not in pity, not in indifference, Thad cared, he was curious but patient and Sebastian couldn't have been happier.  
“Any time, man, any time.”

\--

Two days pass

\--

Thad doesn't hate his family per se, they are not bad people, but there are better things to wake up on a school morning than old man Harwood calling at quarter to six to talk about college choices, never mind that his second born son was only in his Junior year and had only slept four hours until his phone rang due to two essays he had tried writing at the same time.

His father had of course not appreciated his short and clipped tone, and Thad had tried his best to be polite but it was just exhausting and difficult to talk to him at the best of times. His expectations were insane, and completely out of his reach, and he was the best student at Dalton in his year. And though the conversation had barely lasted half an hour before his father had snapped and yelled at him to set his priorities straight before abruptly cutting the cal short.

“Old blasted fool.”, he cursed under his breath once more as he left a double period of Advanced Calculus, bypassing the cafeteria to straightly stomp back to his room, “Old bloody nitwit.”, his mood had only decreased more and more with every passing minute this morning. He was quite glad that he had no afternoon classes or Warbler's rehearsal, let alone lacrosse training, people might have died, had that been the case.

He found great solitute in a bitter lonely spend afternoon in the dead silence of his dorm room, as depressing as it might be as well. But he wasn't left long in his bitterness, for he had had barely thrown himself face first onto his bed before a knock sound on his door and then thrown open before he could have even muttered a single word.

“Up, up, Harwood, stop brooding, get your ass up, we have places to be.”, Nick's voice sounded like a horn but even as he tried to ignore it, it failed, for two pairs of hands reached for him, figured that Jeff would of course not be far off. They pulled at him and pushed until he was sitting, glaring, frowning and looking pityful at the same time. Jeff and Nick must have been quicker than him even on their way back from class, they were already not wearing the uniform anymore, Jeff was even carrying their jackets while Nick took liberty in shifting through Thad's closet.

“What are you doing?”, he asked, politely even, though he was absolutely not in the mood for their antics at the moment, and he was patient, he was really patient. Usually, when he wasn't out for murder. Stupid blasted fathers with bloody stupid timings. His question staid unanswered because before Jeff could have answered, Sebastian stumbled into the room, car keys held between his teeth, leather jacket half thrown over one shoulder and still busy pulling on one sneaker.

“Skylar and Jackson will cover for us. I caught them just before they went for lunch.”, Sebastian declared after Jeff had taken the keys from him, “And Brandon said to and I quote 'Tell Duval I'm pulling a blind eye'?”, phrased as question in the end, it had all three boys turn around to Nick who turned around again with a smirk on his face, throwing a pair of ratty jeans and an old lacrosse shirt in Thad's direction.

“Bless him, finally paid out that I covered for him and his cheating ass one too many times. He owes me way more than just one night out of school.”, Nick explained, prompting Sebastian and Jeff to grin as well, and the look, so similar on their faces, it crept Thad out far too much without a decent level of coffee in his system. Sebastian and Jeff were not supposed to look alike. Not snarky Smythe and sweet Sterling. 

“What the hell are you planning to do with me?”, he snapped but after going to school with Nick and Jeff for more than two years already, he knew when a fight was worth fighting and when not, and so he pulled off blazer and the dress shirt and slipped into the really old shirt. Changing his pants as well, he only then noticed that even Sebastian had changed into old clothes, it only confused him more and more.

“We're going to play paintball and then get you drunk. My parents are out of town and Spanish is canceled for tomorrow morning.”, Nick finally gave answers and Thad sighed so deep, he could have fallen to his knees in gratitude, only keeping from following that thought because he knew Nick would never ever let him forget that. 

“Thank you.”, he said instead, and after he had pulled on his sneakers as well, it was Sebastian who slung an arm around his shoulders.  
“You helped me forget, I can only offer you the same.”, they smirked and then smiled at each other, “And well, I'm taking every chance I can to knock Duval's ego down. You're on my team.”, Nick and Jeff snorted and locked Thad's door for him, “They may have their freaky mind reading thing, but we have skills.”, and Thad started laughing.

He should have known his friends wouldn't leave him hanging.

\--

A couple of days later

\--

“Your brother?”, Jeff asked and pointed to the picture that stood center stage on the small window sill in Sebastian's single room, the brunet nodded, “How much younger?”, Jeff continued, having seen the small flicker of a smile that had ghosted over Sebastian's lips. They were waiting on Thad to come back from a take out run to start their movie night.

Sebastian had offered his room because it was a corner room, and with Thad a as puffer to the other ones, they had less to worry about concerning annoying any other students. Nick and Jeff had quickly ruled out their own, situated between two sets of stressed out Seniors, it would have been a ticking time bomb.

“Four years, he is twelve.”, Sebastian answered with another look to the most current picture of his brother, taken by their mother shortly before they had all left Paris, her for Morocco and them for Ohio. Back to Dad, back to America, back to normalcy, back to being a teenager.  
“He looks like a sweet little guy.”, Nick snapped him out of his starting day dreams and Sebastian smiled, he explicitly remembered that Sage had wanted to look cool for that one shot. Something he had failed epically in, wide and round chocolate eyes, that pout on his lips ruined by obvious upwards pulling lips, the glowing that seemed to come from him. He looked like innocence and youth and childlike happiness, and if he could Sebastian would keep him that way forever.

“He is, he truly is. Only the best and kindest in him.”, part of him was already curious how long it would take his little champion to wrap Jeff and Nick around his fingers, he had a talent, a huge on, in doing so with everyone he met, but so did Jeff and Nick. It would be interesting to see that play out. Thad wouldn't be able to resist for five seconds.  
“Is he going to middle school here in town?”, Jeff asked, putting down the books on Sebastian's desk he had inspected, all French, Jeff and Nick had taken Spanish.

“Yeah, Dad is not too happy about it. Seems the other kids are giving him a hard time.”, he wrote it down to their gentle and happy demeanor that he gave away secrets so easily, he felt so at ease with them and Thad, it wasn't difficult to let his guards down for a while.  
“Problems?”, Nick questioned and Sebastian shook his head in a vague negation.  
“He is lonely, doesn't have anyone to talk you. He doesn't make friends easy and it's only been a couple of weeks since we moved here, he spends a lot of time at home, and now where I'm busy with coursework, I can't go home every weekend to see him.”, Sage understood, he understood so well and that was in a way what hurt Sebastian so much, he had found...well people had found him and dragged him into a group of happy guys. Sage was lonely.

“Do you miss him?”, Jeff wanted to know and the nod came easily and instinctively almost then.  
“I fear though he misses me being around more than I miss him. We didn't really have more than each other in Paris. I'm busy now, I have people to talk you.”, he would dare say he had found good friends, whereas Sage had by now only found more books to read. He wasn't bullied or openly ignored, but it wasn't easy for a shy and silent boy like him to make friends, not with how careful he acted and held himself.

“What are you thinking Jeff? Jon and Louis could use someone to take care of?”, Nick piped up again, prompting Jeff to chuckle, and though Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the thick grins on their faces, he kept quiet and was ignored in turn.  
“Certainly, they would be happy to.”, Jeff answered with an eye roll and it was Nick who took his turn in chuckling up a storm, even four years of thick friendship later, Sebastian would still not understand ninety percent of their inside jokes.  
“What are you talking about?”, his sixteen year old self asked warily instead, he would never stop being insanely protective of his little brother, not after what had happened, it would get easier to let him live his own life, but back then, he still kept both arms tightly clasped around Sage.

“My younger cousin, who had basically been like a little brother for me, our families are really close. Jon is 13, going to middle school here as well, together with Trent's little brother. They are good kids, and I'm sure if I mention your brother, they will go ahead and seek him out. It's difficult to stay lonely or sad once they found you.”, in some months Sebastian would laugh hysterically over the innocent way Jeff had phrased his descriptions of the two devils who would have finally coaxed Sage out of his little hole.

“Why are you so helpful?”, he asked, the complete bewilderment he felt must have shown on his face, because Nick frowned slightly, whereas Jeff remained joyous always. It would take a while, quite a while to be precise until Sebastian completely left Paris's ghost behind himself, even longer still until he would talk about what had happened. But when he did, the two boys sitting in his room now would be among those who would hear the story first, for more than just one reason by then, but the following words would surely be one of them.  
“We're quite the tight community here, and you're a Dalton boy now, we look out for our own. You are family and so is your brother.”, Jeff explained with strong confident words falling from his lips, but the smile he held was genuine and his eyes showed only warmth. And safety.

For a moment Sebastian simply stared at the blond boy sitting across the room from him, trying to figure out what his motives were, what he could be planning, what he could be hiding, but he found nothing, no ulterior motivation, just sincere and honest concern and happiness. And Nick looks just the same, just a little more calm about it.

“Thank you.”, he said then, meaning it with all his heart, “It really means a lot.”, he felt less thrown away now, less exiled into some sleepy town in Ohio, he knew his father meant well by taking them out of the toxic environment they had fallen into in Paris, but it was only now that Sebastian was starting to realize just how much his father had been right, Westerville would do him good. 

“Okay, now where Thad is taking his unworthy time, tell us more. About Sage, about how you know Skylar and his little friend so well.”, and Sebastian settled back onto his bed, leaning back against the wall while Nick and Jeff somehow managed to squish themselves onto the small couch.

And while he talked, Sebastian knew suddenly what his father had talked about, this feeling of belonging, of family, of brotherhood and inner strength. Dalton finally belonged to him, and he belonged to Dalton.

\--

Two days later, Nick and Jeff took pleasure in scaring the crap out of Sebastian by popping up left and right of him as he left his history class to walk over to the cafeteria for lunch break.  
“Would you mind the company?”, Jeff asked innocently, fully ignoring the glare of doom Sebastian sent their ways while he was still trying to catch his breath. Nick simply smirked up at him where he had quickly bent down to pick up the papers Sebastian had thrown away upon their fright. 

“First of all, that yelp didn't happen. I will kill you if you tell anyone.”, the taller brunet clarified, taking his papers back from Nick after the smaller boy had straightened up again, “And second, no, I wouldn't mind the company.”, Jeff beamed and nodded for Sebastian to start walking, they fell into step on either side of him, their hands shortly touching behind the new boy's back, they wouldn't tell anyone, but forgetting wasn't an option.

When they reached the cafeteria entrance they ran just into the other guy they needed, Thad rounded the corner from the science corridor with the two shadows he had gained within the first week of the new school year. Two shadows that either clung to him or to Sebastian, and it was the taller one who greeted the two freshmen with a bright smile. It was all working into their schemes.

“You wouldn't mind them joining, would you?”, Sebastian asked, the faces of the Warbler's current youngster and his roommate looking out from his right side.  
“No, of course not.”, Nick and Jeff answered together and grinned maybe a tad bit too gleeful, for Thad raised an eyebrow at them behind Sebastian's back, but both of them simply smiled a little more innocent. Out of the old council members, Thad had always been the one most suspicious of their plans but also the one melting like butter if treated correctly.

“What are you two up to?”, came the expected hiss the moment they stepped into the cafeteria and took their place in line, letting Sebastian, Skylar and Jackson go forth, the older one asking the younger ones about their day. Jeff and Nick exchanged a quick look and then simultaneously threw their arms around Thad's shoulders, drawing the smaller boy over to the tray counter.  
“Oh Thad, dear Thad.”, Jeff started, smiling happily when Thad glared at him, trying to shuffle out of their hold, but Nick and Jeff merely swung around to plant themselves in front of him, “Why would you ever think we are up to something.”

“Why, can't we merely remain happy in the obvious well being of our friends.”, Nick continued, smiling brightly despite the hard glare from brown eyes.  
“What do you want from me?”, Thad spoke out slowly and both friends exchanged another meaningful look, two birds with one stone, they had called it, and it sure would fit together perfectly.  
“We are merely interested in the continued physical and mental well being of our closest friends.”, Jeff responded in an even more cryptic tone that had Thad snort out loudly and then snap a hand around Nick's form to grab a tray.

Ten minutes later Sebastian's and Thad's joined surprise over Nick proposing for the taller boy to move into the smaller boy's double room, for them to be roommates, lasted about half a minute before they stared first at each of them and then at each other. But they quickly agreed though.

Granted, two weeks later, they did slightly regret putting slave master Smythe into one room with perfectionist Harwood, but they never regretted putting their friends Sebastian and Thad together as roommates. Not only did they help Sebastian to finally find his place among them, they also helped Thad find a new one after his two oldest friends had graduated, and all in just one move.

\--

Sebastian's nightmares didn't disappear, as did Jeff's migraines, nor did Thad's and Nick's excessive worrying ever decrease. They would face new challenges and new problems, enemies would come, old friends would come back and then betray them, new boys would come along, but the four of them would face it together, conquer it together. 

They may not be related in blood, two of them would be very happy about it at some point in the close future, but Dalton had made them more than just friends, Dalton had made them brothers.

\--

The end.  
Or better say, it was the beginning.


End file.
